Snapchat has announced that it will be rolling out its redesigned algorithm on Friday. The social media platform is looking to offer a more personalized experience to each user. The new algorithm change is one of the first measures towards this. Lately, Snapchat has been competing with other giant social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The company is hopeful that the new algorithm will help attract more users to its platform or at least increase engagement with loyal users.
Snapchat’s CEO Evan Spiegel termed the move as separating the social from the media.
But what is this redesign all about? The first thing to note is that the redesign will place all messages and stories from your friends to the left side of the camera. However, the content will be sorted differently. Unlike in other social media platforms where the content is sorted by most popular, Snapchat will take a different approach. The social media platform will prioritize content based on what you view most and who you talk to. This is the kind of personalization that the company has been talking about.
On the right side of the camera, you will now start to see all the premium publishers. There will also be pro social media celebrities that you follow and aggregated stories. Snapchat says that it will include a Snap Map in the Discover Section as part of these new changes. In the Snap Map, you will find content curated by people. The content will be sorted based on your past viewing trends or behavior.
All the content will be reviewed by an editorial team before it’s accessible to the users. Snapchat says that with the increasing presence of “fake news” on social media, an editorial review of stories is now very necessary. The editorial team will also weed out clickbait disinformation. The new algorithm will show ads between Discover content and the stories.
So, how will the new Snapchat look after these changes? There are a few key areas you need to look out for. First the app will open to the camera as usual. However, the screen will have a new icon that allows you to access every screen within the app. This will make navigation easier. Snap Map will also open alongside the Search bar.
There is also a new single Friends tab. This tab will have a mix of private messages and stories. New Snaps and text chats will be at the top. They will be followed by stories from your friends who you engage with the most. Stories from other acquaintances will be displayed on the bottom.
All professional publishers regardless of how big or small they are will be lumped under the Discover tab. The aggregated stories from hotspots on the Snap Map will also be displayed there. The human editorial and moderation team will be the biggest addition to all this. It will be interesting to see how users will respond to these new changes. Snapchat is hopeful that this algorithmic redesign will attract more users to the platform.
